Day 2: Ride a cock horse (or bicycle)

Southam to Hungerford, England. Miles: 76 Climb: 3072 feet Total trip miles: 159

Another fantastic day. Sunny skies. Good temps. And little wind. We left at 9:00 am. The first stop was at mile 15 in Banbury, a historic market town. Recall the nursery rhyme: Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross To see a fine lady upon a white horse With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes She shall have music whoever she goes. Not on a horse, but a bicycle, I arrived in Banbury Cross this morning. There is a statue in town to bring the nursery rhyme to life. And the cock horse refers to a hobby horse. I learned there is a hobby horse festival in town each summer to honor the home of this nursery rhyme. Who knew?

We stopped in Bradbury so Jane could visit the bike shop to get her electronic shifting fixed. Eureka, the shop was open on Sunday and they were able to fix the problem. We then set on our way to our next stop, tea and crumpets at Huffkins in Whitney in the Cotswolds.

We ride hard between stops, as if each stop is our final destination. At each “SAG” we stop for some food and drink before plowing hard to the next stop. It is not unlike a club ride except that the food is very different. I’ve never had tea and tea cakes at a SAG stop in Michigan. After tea and tea cakes (no crumpets today) we rode to Ye Olde Swan, a beautiful, delightful pub on the River Thames where we stopped for tonic and lime.

From that point it was just 30 miles home. And what a 30 miles it was. Long climbs up over a ridge and back. One climb was a 14% grade and l-o-n-g. It was a killer. I was so grateful for my PowerCycle training. At the top of the climb the scenery was spectacular. Huge wheat fields rolled for miles before us and horses were grazing in the pastures. The ride home was hard, especially in the last 30 miles of the day, but the picturesque countryside made it so worth the effort. Our hotel tonight is the Three Swans, another quaint bed and breakfast. We agreed to pack really light since the SAG vehicle for six riders is James’ BMW. Every night when we arrive at our hotel we wash out our kits in the sink and hang them to dry. The bed and breakfasts in England have no air conditioning. My room tonight is hot, and in the closet I found a small, noisy fan. My dilemma is whether to use it to dry my kit or to cool my tired body. I suspect the kit will win. Practicality before comfort. Tomorrow we ride to Poole, the port for crossing the English Chennel to enter France. Weather forecast, again, is good. Sunny and little wind.